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Thursday, April 21, 2011

April Todo at the orchard


Unthinned peaches might look like the bottom picture but after thinning it should look like the top picture, fruits about four inches apart.

Thinning is at the top of our list of things to do. We have been thinning peaches for the past three weeks. Thinning is now to include plums and plum relatives like pluots and the Keifer pears.
Delta type pheremone trap

With these warm temperatures we need to check to see if peach twig borer is flying (pheromone traps) and replace the sticky surfaces and the pheromone capsule. Tomorrow is not an irrigation day but if the plots need irrigation then irrigate the plots. It is important right now to make sure the garlic and onions are not stressed or the garlic may not size up properly and the onions may not get to a good size as well.

Dieback of new peach growth due to peach twig borer. Later it can get in soft fruit.

The orchard phone on the computer now seems to be working well. The number for the orchard is 702-257-5532.

Asparagus will need to be harvested. When harvesting please remember the next harvest day isn’t for three days so we need to harvest the spears accordingly. At 90F the spears may grow an inch a day if there is enough water.

Todo
• Thinning peaches, nectarines, plums and Keifer pears
• Harvest asparagus
• Add drip for hops and plant hops
• Irrigate vegetable plots where needed
• Spray nectarines with insecticidal soap/spinosad for thrips control
• Weed vegetable plots
• Remove suckers from trees
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2 comments:

  1. UnknownApril 21, 2011 at 9:08 AM

    I have a three year old apricot tree. The first year I got no apricots, the second about 50. This year the tree did not bloom, hence not fruit. The tree is looks healthy. Why no blooms?

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  2. XtremehortMay 2, 2011 at 8:43 AM

    It would help to know where you are but this past spring we had some late freezes in the Mojave Desert. I suspect you lost your crop the same way we lost much of our apricot crop this year at The Orchard; late freezes. Not much you can do about this kind of problem. It happens every few years. We watch our weather station and which trees are in bloom or near bloom when the temperatures drop below freezing. Blossoms or flower buds which are open or nearly open, if the freeze corresponds to their opening or near opening, freeze and die when temperatures drop below 32F. It is worse if these temperatures are accompanied by any wind at all.

    Next year you should be back to fruit production. Be sure, when you are pruning, not to prune any of the very short shoots from the tree. These are fruiting spurs and if removed will remove any crop of fruit.

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